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Southern North Sea environment under scrutiny
Volume 17/Number 1/January 1986
and shipment from hence in specially designed shallow draught 10 000 t tankers. Such tankers would be unsuitable for long distance sea travel thus necessitating further transhipment. GILL BISHOP
BP's Oil Spill Clean-up Strategy for Furzey Island BP's latest Quarterly Bulletin reports briefly on their oil spill clean up strategy for Furzey Island, part of the Wytch Farm oil field development in southern England. Although stressing that sound design and construction of equipment, adequate safety devices, and well practised emergency procedures are the key factors in avoiding oil spills, BP nevertheless recognize that they have a responsibility to devise a strategy suitable for the containment and clean up of spills in Poole Harbour, an acknowledged ecologically sensitive area. The source of greatest pollution is potentially the loss of well control during drilling or subsequent production activities. The oil spill response plan is thus designed to cover pipeline, transportation or island storage accidents. The primary means of spill containment are the use of bunded areas with a total capacity of 7500 m 3 (50 000 bbl) with secondary containment effected by booms to the south-west of the island. Further escape into the harbour, where water movements are complex and difficult to predict, will then be dealt with in conjunction with the Dorset County Council, Poole Harbour Authority, Wessex Water Authority and nationally interested parties such as the RSPB according to a predetermined strategy. Shoreline access is very limited in the harbour but has been comprehensively documented. Ecological studies to detail sensitive sites such as the large areas of mudflat and saitmarsh, have also been completed. Cooperation with the RSPB in dealing with oiled birds, and further restoration of beaches and marshes is apparently in hand. The strategy is thus similar to that used in other ecologically sensitive oil development areas, and it is hoped that the detailed plan will be effective in reducing the impact of oil on the environment should the situation arise.
to~ap~int oceanographic consultant METOCEAN to manage a 3-year programme of oceanographic and meterological data collection. This will include collation of all existing environmental data reports for the area held by SSEG members. This will then be used to establish a central data base together with new data from the West Sole, Viking and Leman fields and additional underwater instrumentation from other selected locations. The ultimate aim of the SSEG is to unify the offshore industry's approach to environmental design and operating criteria for rigs and platforms in the Southern Basin.
Alternative Uses of Offshore Installations Investigators at Heriot-Watt University's Institute of Offshore Engineering have produced a report on a Science and Engineering Research Council funded study which has examined possible alternative uses for offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea once their production lifetimes have expired. The 80 page report reviews the requirements established by international conventions for the abandonment and disposal a t sea of offshore installations and describes the abandonment policy objectives emerging in the UK. Consideration is given to possible alternative uses of offshore installations within this legal regime, a n d t h e report discusses a variety of possible alternative uses ranging from the subseabed disposal of radioactive wastes to the use of the whole or parts of installations for the creation of artificial reefs. While it is conceivable that every offshore installation may offer potential for alternative use as a reef structure the authors conclude that it is likely that alternative operational uses for structures maintained in situ would be limited at the most to only a few. The report Alternative uses of Offshore Installations is available from the Institute of Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Research Park, Riccarton, Edinburgh.
MNRs and Shellfish Culture Southern North Sea Environment Under Scrutiny A new environmental group has been set up to improve the understanding of environmental conditions in the southern North Sea in relation to gas exploration and development. The current membership includes Amoco, BP, British Gas, Britoil, Conoco and Shell Expro, all of which have interests in the southern North Sea. One of the first actions of the group, known as the Southern Sector Environmental Group (SSEG), has been
British Shellfish farmers are becoming concerned about the increased controls imposed by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) on inshore fishing and shellfish culture projects; so it emerged from a recent meeting in Newcastle on conservation and the Marine Environment. Attending the meeting, Dr Edwards, Director of the Shellfish Association, stated that "there is a need for greater trust and cooperation with the NCC, taking into account the needs and potential of shellfish and other mariculture projects". Dr David Clark, the Labour party's environmental spokesman, chaired the meeting and explained how, during the course of his Private Members Bill (now the Wildlife and Countryside
and shipment from hence in specially designed shallow draught 10 000 t tankers. Such tankers would be unsuitable for long distance sea travel thus necessitating further transhipment. GILL BISHOP
BP's Oil Spill Clean-up Strategy for Furzey Island BP's latest Quarterly Bulletin reports briefly on their oil spill clean up strategy for Furzey Island, part of the Wytch Farm oil field development in southern England. Although stressing that sound design and construction of equipment, adequate safety devices, and well practised emergency procedures are the key factors in avoiding oil spills, BP nevertheless recognize that they have a responsibility to devise a strategy suitable for the containment and clean up of spills in Poole Harbour, an acknowledged ecologically sensitive area. The source of greatest pollution is potentially the loss of well control during drilling or subsequent production activities. The oil spill response plan is thus designed to cover pipeline, transportation or island storage accidents. The primary means of spill containment are the use of bunded areas with a total capacity of 7500 m 3 (50 000 bbl) with secondary containment effected by booms to the south-west of the island. Further escape into the harbour, where water movements are complex and difficult to predict, will then be dealt with in conjunction with the Dorset County Council, Poole Harbour Authority, Wessex Water Authority and nationally interested parties such as the RSPB according to a predetermined strategy. Shoreline access is very limited in the harbour but has been comprehensively documented. Ecological studies to detail sensitive sites such as the large areas of mudflat and saitmarsh, have also been completed. Cooperation with the RSPB in dealing with oiled birds, and further restoration of beaches and marshes is apparently in hand. The strategy is thus similar to that used in other ecologically sensitive oil development areas, and it is hoped that the detailed plan will be effective in reducing the impact of oil on the environment should the situation arise.
to~ap~int oceanographic consultant METOCEAN to manage a 3-year programme of oceanographic and meterological data collection. This will include collation of all existing environmental data reports for the area held by SSEG members. This will then be used to establish a central data base together with new data from the West Sole, Viking and Leman fields and additional underwater instrumentation from other selected locations. The ultimate aim of the SSEG is to unify the offshore industry's approach to environmental design and operating criteria for rigs and platforms in the Southern Basin.
Alternative Uses of Offshore Installations Investigators at Heriot-Watt University's Institute of Offshore Engineering have produced a report on a Science and Engineering Research Council funded study which has examined possible alternative uses for offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea once their production lifetimes have expired. The 80 page report reviews the requirements established by international conventions for the abandonment and disposal a t sea of offshore installations and describes the abandonment policy objectives emerging in the UK. Consideration is given to possible alternative uses of offshore installations within this legal regime, a n d t h e report discusses a variety of possible alternative uses ranging from the subseabed disposal of radioactive wastes to the use of the whole or parts of installations for the creation of artificial reefs. While it is conceivable that every offshore installation may offer potential for alternative use as a reef structure the authors conclude that it is likely that alternative operational uses for structures maintained in situ would be limited at the most to only a few. The report Alternative uses of Offshore Installations is available from the Institute of Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Research Park, Riccarton, Edinburgh.
MNRs and Shellfish Culture Southern North Sea Environment Under Scrutiny A new environmental group has been set up to improve the understanding of environmental conditions in the southern North Sea in relation to gas exploration and development. The current membership includes Amoco, BP, British Gas, Britoil, Conoco and Shell Expro, all of which have interests in the southern North Sea. One of the first actions of the group, known as the Southern Sector Environmental Group (SSEG), has been
British Shellfish farmers are becoming concerned about the increased controls imposed by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) on inshore fishing and shellfish culture projects; so it emerged from a recent meeting in Newcastle on conservation and the Marine Environment. Attending the meeting, Dr Edwards, Director of the Shellfish Association, stated that "there is a need for greater trust and cooperation with the NCC, taking into account the needs and potential of shellfish and other mariculture projects". Dr David Clark, the Labour party's environmental spokesman, chaired the meeting and explained how, during the course of his Private Members Bill (now the Wildlife and Countryside